Qatar Impressions

I'm here. I really have to stop and remind myself that I am in the Middle East. It took so long to get here that I shouldn't need reminding, but it feels like I am visiting Craig, Becky and Anna in Houston. Well it feels that way as long as we are in the house...when I go outside, it is definitely a different world.

I will list some of my impressions: Becky is ready to pop! She is due in a few days.
It strikes me as so strange/funny to see grown men driving fancy cars, wearing the white robe and a head scarf. I wish I had a picture, but you know what I am talking about. Think Yassar Arrafat with a white head scarf . It is also strange to see women covered in black from head to toe walking around in 100 degree heat. I have seen a few women with the face and head totally covered, driving fancy cars, sporting huge rings and other jewelry. They only have a narrow slit to see out of and I am amazed that they can drive like that. The Toyota Land Cruiser is the vehicle of choice...mostly white with lots of pin striping. I saw camels being exercised at the camel race track. The rider sways back and forth in a motion much more exaggerated than when riding a horse. I have been swimming in the Perisan Gulf. It was wonderful. The water was clear and warm at the surface and nice and cool a few feet down. We ate at Johnny Rocket's the first night. Yes, they have a lot of American restaurants here. Three of the things that were on the menu were unavailable...no vegie burgers, onion rings or chicken fingers. My Chicken Sandwich was great...the fries were good too. The staff was polite and gave excellent service. They danced behind the counter to Donna Summer. They seemed a little more shy about their performance than in the States. They felt a little foolish, I bet. I would too. Craig and Becky's Villa is really nice. It has four bedrooms, an office and five bathrooms, two of which have bidets. A bidet is a sign of luxury to me! The hot water situation here is totally reversed from home. The water is stored in a tank on the roof. In the middle of summer it gets so hot that taking a shower becomes unbearable unless you have a means to add cold water. The hot water heaters in the house are turned off in the summer and used as reservoirs for cool water. It is possible that you would have to wait for water to cool off before you take a bath or shower. Gas is cheap here! You would have guessed that. Anna doesn't seem a lot bigger than when I last saw her in November...or was it October? It is also different that Sunday is the first work day of the week here. Friday and Saturday are the week-end. You have to get your shopping done Friday morning because shops close in the afternoon. This used to be the case in Germany on Saturday afternoon. I don't know if it's still like that there. Tomorrow, Monday, Becky and I are planning to have lunch at a new Mall called the Villaggio and then do some grocery shopping. I will write more in the coming days. I can't wait to post about the birth of our new Granddaughter. That is so exciting. Also, Anna let me kiss her good night today when she went down for a nap. She isn't sure about me yet. Sorry this is so disjointed, but I just wanted to do a free association of impressions. The money here is called a Riyal and there are 3.64 Riyals to the dollar. When I got my Visa at the airport I just looked quickly at my receipt and thought it was $100.00 but it was Q100.00. That is closer to $30.00. I still don't know how I am going to get my Visa extended since they will only issue a tourist visa for a three week stay. Craig said that I might have to fly to Bahrain and then come back. I heard that Bahrain is a 20 minute flight. OOOOOkay....whatever I have to do I will do.